


The First Lesson

by fallsintograce



Series: Zine fics [2]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Ballet, Gen, He doesn't have fingers or toes yet, Primadonna Zine, Yuuri's in the womb still, cute fluff, friendship between Hiroko and Minako, friendship fic, zine fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 22:11:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18397358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallsintograce/pseuds/fallsintograce
Summary: Hiroko's having a hard time keeping up with her unborn baby so Minako decides to help her out a little bit. Thus begins Yuuri's very first lesson well before he is born. Fic for Primadonna zine.





	The First Lesson

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone. This is my fic for Primadonna zine. We can finally post them now and I went the simple route with a friendship fic! For others waiting on me to update my WIPs, please don't worry. I swear I have not forgotten them and I will get to them as soon as possible! I just wanted to get this fic up before I fly out tomorrow morning.

It didn’t seem like much when Hiroko asked her old friend for some help. She didn’t have very many ideas of left and she was getting tired of sitting around. Her doctor had told her that she needed to get some more exercise and to keep moving. As of late, she had been feeling tired and having a hard time doing anything. She was pregnant again and didn’t have much energy to go anywhere. It was going to be difficult to get exercise and she didn’t know of anyplace that would take her in. In addition, she could find any exercise that was worth doing. Whenever she tried to move, the baby would kick around. It was like he wasn’t satisfied with what she tried out. Now she was using her last resort and that was to ask Minako for help. 

“He’s not happy with anything I’m doing.” She explained. “I know I have to move around and exercise to keep us both healthy. Anytime I try something new, he doesn’t seem satisfied.”

“Is it too hard for you?” Minako asked.

“No, it shouldn’t be hard. I should be able to do this but I’m always in pain. This baby boy just keeps kicking whenever he doesn’t seem happy. I guess I haven’t found something we both enjoy. I didn’t think this pregnancy would be as hard as the first one but I was wrong. I should have seen it.” 

“Don’t worry about it. You’ve gone through this before. You know what to expect. The doctor also said that what you’re feeling is normal but it will pass in time. He’ll be here before you know it. It will all come back to you and you’ll remember what to do.” 

Hiroko hoped that what Minako said was true. She had gone through all of this in the past but she knew what to expect back then. She was ready to be a mother and she was ready to take care of a baby. This time was very different. The pregnancy was sudden and nothing anyone was prepared for. It happened when it happened and now they had to prepare for the arrival of a new baby. He was due sometime in late November but it felt like he would come out any minute. Suddenly, they had to buy new things for this baby, make more room in their home, and get ready for the next chapter of their lives. It was both exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. The one that everyone was certain about was that they were ready to welcome the baby. Even Mari, who everyone feared who get jealous and feel left out, wanted to be the best big sister to her baby brother. She was probably the most prepared for him and even told her parents that she would help take care of him. 

All of that was nice to hear in the very beginning of the pregnancy. Hiroko could still do her job while taking care of herself and the baby. The first few months went by with ease and the baby didn’t do anything then. Sometimes she wasn’t sure if he was still alive. The only thing that calmed her down was when she saw the doctors and they assured her things were fine. The baby was growing and it wouldn’t be long before he started to move. They turned out to be right. Soon, he became active and he couldn’t stay still. He was rolling about and kicking around, which made things hard for his month. Hiroko had been able to run about and do her work like before. She was also getting sick more often and needed to lie down. Her family and customers were sympathetic towards her. They knew that this was going to be difficult, even if it was the second time around. 

Besides the usual pregnancy illness and discomfort, things were coming along very smoothly. The doctors said that the baby was growing and there were no complications so far. This pregnancy would hopefully be better than her first one. Mari was one impatient baby who was ready to come out and did cause a lot of pain during labor. She had been told by other expectant mothers that the second time around was easier. She could apparently relax more but she didn’t want to take chances. It would be boring to sit at home and rest. She needed to move around and do something. The baby inside of her was moving as well and she could tell he was going to be someone extraordinary. He was going to grow up and be someone that people would look up to. It was strange because he wasn’t even out yet. He was in the womb and moving about but there was something interesting about him. The more she thought about him, the more eager she was to have him in her life. 

Since this baby was growing, she needed to find a way to move around. The morning sickness became easier to tolerate and now she was able to do more than lie down. Things had stalled at work and she couldn’t keep walking around to see how their patrons were doing. These days, she spent more time sitting than standing and her morning sickness was starting to get worse. She didn’t want to keep lying around and feeling ill. When she told Minako how she was feeling, that gave her friend an idea.

“I can help you. Have you thought about taking ballet lessons?”

“I haven’t but wouldn’t that be stressful for the baby? What if I fell or did something that could hurt me or him?”

“If I’m helping you, that won’t happen. I won’t teach anything that would be hard or stressful on either of you. I have worked with pregnant dancers before and many of them had the same worries you have. They were scared at first but they soon got used to it and realized that this was good for the baby. Just give it a chance. Try one lesson with me. If you don’t like it, we can try something else.” 

It couldn’t be difficult. Dance was an art like anything else and it took practice to get everything right. It couldn’t be bad for the baby. After all, new mothers did need their exercise and going with something easy would keep them both healthy. However, she had seen Minako dance and she knew that she wouldn’t go easy. She was willing to help but she had already warned Hiroko not to slack off. 

“We might have known each other for a while but I still expect you to work hard.” She had said. “Don’t be fooled. Ballet is far harder than it looks. It took me years to get where I am. Even now, I’m learning new things and doing my best to stay in form.”

Hiroko nodded. “I just need to get exercise in some way. I’ve tried other things but they don’t seem to work. Either that or the baby doesn’t like them. I always end up feeling that it’s too hard on both of us.” 

“I’ll try not to do anything that could be stressful.”

“I trust you. We’ll be there whenever you’re ready.”

She had said that out loud back then and didn’t think much about it. Now that the time had come, she was screaming inside. It was either that or the baby was kicking around too much. It was as though he was terrified now. It was like he was trying to say _No, I can’t do it! Don’t make me do it! I’m scared! I’m afraid I’ll get hurt! Please, Mama! Please don’t do this!_

A part of her wanted to turn back for him but it was too late. She had made her promise to Minako. Now here they were, her and the baby, waiting for their private session to begin. She wasn’t nervous when she went into the studio but now she was getting worried. Minako put in long hours and trained hard to get to the position she was in. There was a reason why she had been asked to dance in many shows all around the world. She had been the star of many ballets and was considered well-known in the world of dance. However, she hadn’t let all the fame get to her. Deep down, no matter how much she danced, she was still the same Minako. She expected everyone, including her closest friends, to put one hundred percent into what they did. 

Hiroko had arrived at Minako’s dance studio, hoping that she could get some time to prepare with the baby. What she didn’t expect was that Minako would already be here, ready to work. She had everything ready for Hiroko who was already tired from walking. The baby was giving her a little pain this morning so she couldn’t do much except sit in bed and try to hope that it would go away with some medication and rest. When she finally got out, she wondered if it was too late to change their lesson. She worried that either she would hurt herself or the baby if they did something too extreme. However, it was only an hour before anything started so she had no choice but to see Minako. Hopefully, she would go easy on her.

 _It will be fine._ She told herself. _This isn’t going to be hard. I just have to follow everything exactly and we’ll both be fine. I don’t think Minako-senpai would give me anything too difficult, right?_

Minako did light up when she saw Hiroko get in. “Just in time! How are you feeling today?”

“I was a little sick earlier so I couldn’t do much. I had to rest in the morning so I didn’t do any work.”

“Do you think you can do anything today? I won’t do anything too stressful but_”

“I will be all right.” Hiroko promised. “I couldn’t stay in bed forever, not with this little one. I think he’s very excited to get started.” 

“It looks like he might grow up to be a dancer! Let’s see how this goes.” 

Their lesson began with some simple stretches although they didn’t feel so easy for Hiroko. Her body wasn’t quite as flexible and it was hard to do a turn. Whenever she tried to move, it felt like something was holding her back. The moment she took a step, she could feel the baby kick his feet. She couldn’t tell if it was because he was having fun or if she was enjoying herself. It was the first time that they both liked doing something. Of course, she couldn’t do all the moves that Minako could do but at least she was moving. 

The moves were getting harder and the music was faster. She didn’t care about how she looked while dancing. She just wanted to have fun. With each stretch, each step, each turn, everything was starting to get easier. However, it wasn’t exactly what Minako wanted. Anytime Hiroko thought she did right, she would get Minako shaking her head and trying to correct her. 

“Try to keep up!” Minako had moved to the front to show Hiroko what she was doing. “Mimic what I’m doing. If I’m raising my arm, you raise yours. If I take a step back, then you have to take a step back.”

Hiroko tried to follow along but Minako was moving fast. At first, it was easy to follow along but when she picked up speed, things got more confusing. The baby was also bouncing around inside and she had to take a break. For some reason, he was feeling the music. “Oh, senpai! I’m enjoying myself but I need you to slow down! I can’t follow along anymore!”

“Sorry!” Minako stopped at that moment and saw that Hiroko was looking for a place to sit down. She ran over to get her a chair. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? Sometimes, I get carried away and forget… ”

“I’m fine. He’s fine.” Hiroko assured her, sitting down and trying to rest. “I think he was enjoying it a lot more. He didn’t want to stop but I needed to catch my breath.”

“Hmm, it looks like I may have a future student here.” Minako gently reached out and touched the area where the baby was. She had been curious what kind of child he would be but this felt different. He was moving around and kicking about. “He’s feisty. I wonder what kind of dancer he’s going to end up being. Will he go into ballet or will he try to move into something else? Will he be a student who gets along with others or do you think he’ll prefer private lessons?”

“You’re thinking well into the future, senpai. I haven’t decided what his name is going to be yet. Just because he’s moving around now doesn’t mean he’ll be a dancer.” Hiroko looked down at herself. It did seem like her baby was having fun and more active than usual. “I just want him to be healthy and happy for now.”

“And he will be but I think he could make a good dancer. I can tell from his movement that he will be a very serious student. He will take in everything I show him and he will work hard. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does end up being a very hard worker. He wants to be the best and he will do what he can to get that goal. Maybe it will take him but he will get there.”

“You seem to know more about my child than I do. He hasn’t even been born yet. Besides, all he did during the lesson was move around a lot. I will admit that it didn’t hurt as much as before. The lesson calmed him down but that’s it. I don’t know if that makes him a dancer.”

“I know but I can sense something here. I never felt that way about anyone else but I think your son is going to be very special. It seems like he’s moving around to you but to me, I think he’s dancing. He has rhythm. He can move the beat. I also see him being a very emotional dancer. When he moves with his body, he’ll move his audience.”

It did sound like a lot but Hiroko wondered if this could come true. No one knew what the future truly held but her boy could grow up to be amazing. As long as they raised him well and he was happy, he would never stray too far from where they wanted him to be. This little one had a long life ahead of him and maybe Minako was right. Maybe he would become something incredible. Maybe he would be someone who could change the world. 

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen but I hope it all goes well for him.” She thought out loud. “It’s funny but I think you might be onto something. The one thing I think we’re both sure about is that this going to be a very special boy. Do you think he’ll be prepared for what’s to come in his life?”

“I don’t think it.” Minako gently put her hand on Hiroko’s stomach and felt the baby moving around. He was active and ready to do anything he set his mind to. “I know it. I can’t wait till he’s old enough to come into the studio. I’ve got a lot to teach him.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr: fallsintograce. 
> 
> I also have Pillowfort that I sometimes look at if that's your cup of tea: fallsintonothing. 
> 
> I shall come back soon! *runs away like the wind*


End file.
